Yahoo joins bidding war for web broadcaster Hulu

Reports link tech giant to online video service which is also coveted by Time Warner, William Morris and more

The online video service Hulu is at the centre of a frenzied bidding war, according to US media reports, with the tech giant Yahoo rumoured to have made an offer for the second time in its history.

With the ink is barely dry on its $1.1bn deal to buy the lite-blogging platform Tumblr, Yahoo made a formal proposal to buy Hulu on Friday morning, according to the tech news websiteAllthingsD.com and the news agency Reuters.

Yahoo told the Guardian it “would not comment on rumour or speculation” in regards to the reported offer.

A deal would confirm Yahoo’s fresh drive into “native” advertising – branded or sponsored editorial content – led by chief executive Marissa Meyer. Yahoo made an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to buy the French video site Daily Motion; the move was vetoed by the French government in April.

Yahoo faces some hefty competition for Hulu, which is co-owned by Disney, News Corp and Comcast. Offers are reported to have been made by Time Warner, News Corp executive Peter Chernin, satellite operator DirecTV, talent agency William Morris and two investment firms, Guggenheim Digital Media and KKR.

Yahoo first approached Hulu in 2011 under Carol Bartz, when Hulu had recruited Morgan Stanley to find a buyer – without success.